This week, it will be a full five years since Israel began its blockade of Gaza – a thin strip of land on the Eastern Mediterranean coast.

The blockade began after a 2006 cross-border raid by Palestinian militants where two Israeli Defence Force members were killed. Two were injured, and Gilad Shalit was abducted and kept in captivity till 18 October 2011. He was eventually released as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Israel was fully justified in searching for one of its sons. But it was not fully justified to take bulldozers and wrecking balls into Gaza, displacing hundreds, if not thousands, and killing others in the process.

Israel eased the blockade for non-military goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing in 2011 for persons, but the blockade is still there. It came about on 27 June when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own. This was after elections in the region were won by Hamas and Fatah refused to cede power. Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side.

Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. The issue was brought to a head when Israel boarded a ship which had set off from Turkey, which was supposed to be carrying humanitarian aid to the city. Speculation about what the ships were carrying continues to this day. Israel maintains that some of the items included weapons such as slingshots, knives and clubs.

On 31 May, Israel sent commandos to board the flotilla and order it into the Israeli port of Ashdod. Matters soured when a struggle broke out with nine activists – armed with knives and dinner plates – being killed. Two commandos were injured, one seriously. Subsequent post-mortems showed that most of the activists had been shot and killed at point blank range. But opinion on the matter was divided, and reports concluded that at least some of the activists were seeking confrontation; and got it.

Facing mounting international calls to ease or lift their blockade in response to the Gaza flotilla raid, Egypt and Israel lessened the restrictions starting in June 2010 while Egypt partly opened the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to Gaza, primarily for people, but not for supplies, to go through. Israel continues to severely restrict and/or prevent people from entering or exiting Gaza. The Israeli NGO Gisha Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement asserted in a July 2010 report that Israel continues to prevent normal functioning of the Gaza economy. Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing permanently on 28 May 2011. Women of all ages and men aged below 18 and above 40 are able to enter Egypt without a visa, although there are still severe restrictions on the movement of personnel and goods to and from Gaza.

The tunnel network, however, is still there and use of it has increased since the Egyptian revolution in early 2011. Opinion on the blockade is mixed. Malta has always advocated for a free Palestinian State and will continue to do so.

The world has been shocked by the civil wars that have ravaged Syria, Libya and in the heart of Africa. Yet the Palestinian issue, the longest drawn out conflicts of them all, has almost been forgotten. This issue is still with us and it should be resuscitated. No one can justify violence committed by Palestinian armed groups – murder is murder. But by the same yardstick, no one can justify armed violence committed against Palestinian civilians, by the Israeli military. Enforcing a blockade only makes matters worse.This week, it will be a full five years since Israel began its blockade of Gaza – a thin strip of land on the Eastern Mediterranean coast.

The blockade began after a 2006 cross-border raid by Palestinian militants where two Israeli Defence Force members were killed. Two were injured, and Gilad Shalit was abducted and kept in captivity till 18 October 2011. He was eventually released as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Israel was fully justified in searching for one of its sons. But it was not fully justified to take bulldozers and wrecking balls into Gaza, displacing hundreds, if not thousands, and killing others in the process.

Israel eased the blockade for non-military goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing in 2011 for persons, but the blockade is still there. It came about on 27 June when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, seizing government institutions and replacing Fatah and other government officials with its own. This was after elections in the region were won by Hamas and Fatah refused to cede power. Following the takeover, Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah had fled and was no longer providing security on the Palestinian side.

Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip on its cities and to prevent Hamas from obtaining other weapons. The issue was brought to a head when Israel boarded a ship which had set off from Turkey, which was supposed to be carrying humanitarian aid to the city. Speculation about what the ships were carrying continues to this day. Israel maintains that some of the items included weapons such as slingshots, knives and clubs.

On 31 May, Israel sent commandos to board the flotilla and order it into the Israeli port of Ashdod. Matters soured when a struggle broke out with nine activists – armed with knives and dinner plates – being killed. Two commandos were injured, one seriously. Subsequent post-mortems showed that most of the activists had been shot and killed at point blank range. But opinion on the matter was divided, and reports concluded that at least some of the activists were seeking confrontation; and got it.

Facing mounting international calls to ease or lift their blockade in response to the Gaza flotilla raid, Egypt and Israel lessened the restrictions starting in June 2010 while Egypt partly opened the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to Gaza, primarily for people, but not for supplies, to go through. Israel continues to severely restrict and/or prevent people from entering or exiting Gaza. The Israeli NGO Gisha Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement asserted in a July 2010 report that Israel continues to prevent normal functioning of the Gaza economy. Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing permanently on 28 May 2011. Women of all ages and men aged below 18 and above 40 are able to enter Egypt without a visa, although there are still severe restrictions on the movement of personnel and goods to and from Gaza.

The tunnel network, however, is still there and use of it has increased since the Egyptian revolution in early 2011. Opinion on the blockade is mixed. Malta has always advocated for a free Palestinian State and will continue to do so.

The world has been shocked by the civil wars that have ravaged Syria, Libya and in the heart of Africa. Yet the Palestinian issue, the longest drawn out conflicts of them all, has almost been forgotten. This issue is still with us and it should be resuscitated. No one can justify violence committed by Palestinian armed groups – murder is murder. But by the same yardstick, no one can justify armed violence committed against Palestinian civilians, by the Israeli military. Enforcing a blockade only makes matters worse.